Stuff by Dennis Alstrand

Paul's
influence on bassists has been so widespread over
numerous generations that there's no denying he's in
everybody's playing at this point.--Will Lee

This
article looks at how Paul McCartney brought the role of
the bass guitar from the depths of the briny oceans out
into the sunlight. I've tried to point out
what he does with many of the Beatle songs (as well as
his solo stuff) to make them vibrant.

One
of my hobbies is to find old photographs of a town, and
go re-create them. It's always kind of exciting to find
the exact spot a photographer stood maybe 100 years ago,
then - if the buildings in the old photo still exist -
line up the shot exactly as was done before. Without
fail, the place seems smaller in reality than it did
looking at the old photo. Also, almost without
exception, I'm surprised to find that there were almost
no trees around our cities 100 years ago. Try to
take a shot now, and the view is covered by the leafy
things. Let's go back through time and look at some then
and now recreations from various places around the SF
Bay Area: Alviso, San Francisco, The Cliff House, Newark
and Alameda.

Ahhh,
for the love of Warmheart and his tales. Go here to read tales
of warmth, debauchery...oops, I mean tenderness and
backhanded love.

In
1973, Louie Cortez and Lance Morrison put a horn band
together designed to change the world. It
was my first band and, probably for that reason, my
favorite one. Five of the six members of Halla
Nass talk about the birth and (flaming) death of the
band that could have gone somewhere if only.....if
only.....we had better singers. If you've ever
pondered what it's like being in a band....